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Is It The End Of The World In Dubai?

In 2009, I wrote that The World project in Dubai might be in trouble due to the economic downturn. The ambitious development in the Gulf may have another problem on its plate. Reports came out yesterday stating that the islands shaped like countries are sinking back down into the water.

The project has been in trouble for years due to the debt-ridden state of Dubai as well as the logistics of building hundreds of islands in the middle of the water. The picture above shows the project back in 2006 but more recent reports tell of a more misshapen development plagued by erosion. At a property hearing, Richard Wilmot-Smith QC, a British lawyer for a company that ferries people to the islands, told the tribunal that the land is gradually falling back into the sea. Penguin Marine sought to get out of its contract with the developer Nakheel, saying that fewer people are going to the islands is and that the project is essentially falling apart.

Work on the islands has reportedly been stopped for over a year. The project is becoming an ocean wasteland, a half-finished project of rocks and sand surrounded by breakwaters. Work has stopped inside the manmade lagoon and instead of neatly defined islands in the shape of recognizable countries and continents, ragged sandy blobs pushed barely above the water remain.

Tags: dubai, dubai world, nahkeel, the world

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Trump Plans $30 Million Dubai Penthouse

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Real Estate Developments

Donald Trump's project on the Palm Jumeriah development in Dubai may have quite the penthouse up for sale. Property developer Nakheel has announced that they expect to sell a penthouse in theTrump International Hotel & Tower on Palm Jumeirah for more than $30 million. Designer Kelly Hoppen has designed two penthouses in the tower which will have 399 residences and townhouses total.

Trump has released his standard hyperbolic statement, saying that he believes " Palm Jumeirah is on course to become one of the world's premier tourist destinations." He also said he is planning to reserve a property in the tower for himself. The 62-story, stainless steel and glass Trump International Hotel & Tower will be the tallest structure on Palm Jumeirah and should be completed in the summer of 2011. It will stand as the gateway to the palm-shaped development, straddling the center line of the Palm Jumeirah, making it the gateway to the heart of the development.

Gallery: Trump Projects